(Witham) (Con):...We have also
seen police and crime commissioners’ role being much more
focused—and there is more we can do in this area—on supporting
victims of crime, which the Lord Chancellor mentioned in his
opening remarks. Working collaboratively across statutory
services is important. I want to give a positive plug to some of
my colleagues who are police and crime commissioners. , the police, fire and crime
commissioner for Essex, is outstanding. He has put a strong focus
in his police and crime plan on supporting victims. He is an
excellent commissioner, and my constituents across the county of
Essex can absolutely see the changes that plan is bringing,
supported by our chief constable, B. J. Harrington. Last week I
met , the outstanding Police and Crime
Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall who is working
with Victim Support. I spent many hours, weeks and months working
with Victim Support when I chaired the all-party parliamentary
group. There are first-hand experiences that we can learn about
from those practitioners and bring into statute and practice,
empowering parts of our statutory services, including these key
roles, and that is vital...
(Torbay) (Con):...It was
welcome to see Devon and Cornwall’s police and crime
commissioner, , in Parliament last week
to launch a new website to help victims of crime. The new
website, which is just one doorway to getting help, is aimed at
helping victims to access the care and support that they need,
and provides a single route for all victims, regardless of
whether they have reported the crime. It was especially good to
talk to the representatives of Victim Support who also attended
the event. As the Minister may know, they are working in
partnership with Alison’s office to deliver services to victims
in a landmark 10-year contract, the largest contract of this type
outside London. The partnership has a budget of £3.42 million for
this financial year, and during 2021-22, a total of 41,112 people
were supported through the pathway, with over 11,000 more people
referred to therapeutic services than in the previous year. It is
welcome to see this type of work being done, as it is vital that
delivery at local level should match aspirations at national
level. That is why the commitment to require a criminal justice
inspectorate to undertake joint inspections on victims’ issues
when directed to do so is also welcome.
For context, CLICK HERE
